Community partnerships are a bit different from community involvement in that with these suggestions, you are partnering with other businesses in your neighborhood. This idea is called cross-promotion and involves identifying other businesses in your area that are not competitors, but have a similar client base.
There are three types of businesses in almost every community that your massage business can partner with. The first is gym/yoga/exercise facilities. The reason these are good businesses to partner with is because their clients are health conscious, and really care about the state of their body. Many of a gym’s clients are great candidates as potential customers for assistance with performance and recovery.
While a partnership can take many forms, a common strategy is to offer a special promotion to the members of the gym. This promotion can be advertised in their newsletter, emails, or by placing brochures or posters in the locker rooms. In exchange, you will do the same for the gym – promote their business to your customers. It’s a win-win scenario. Remember to keep your audience in mind. Your promotional materials for a gym should focus on better performance and faster recovery.
The second type of business to partner with, salons, is also based on the premise of having clients who are similar to your client base and are likely to book a massage. Salons often offer a variety of services and are in the business of pampering; their clients like to treat themselves. And a client who likes to treat herself to a manicure or pedicure every month, may also be interested in a monthly massage. With salons, you’ll want to focus the message in your promotional materials on what’s important to these potential clients – relaxation and indulgence.
The third partnership opportunity, a partnership with a chiropractor, acupuncturist physician, or other healthcare practitioner, is a bit different. Simply offering a promotion to their customers is not the way to go. When partnering with other healthcare professionals, you want to partner based on your credentials and research that shows massage can help with various issues. This is a longer-term strategy that involves networking, research, preparation, formal meetings, and presentations. The goal of this partnership is to have the other healthcare practitioners refer their clients to you for common issues that you have shown success in treating.
There is one final community partnership to consider that falls outside of the cross-promotion category. This is a partnership with any local business with numerous employees, especially businesses that involve jobs that are high in stress and also high in income (law, finance, etc.).
Your goal is to offer a weekly or monthly dedicated time for their employees, or to even go into the office and offer chair massage. The key here is pitching that you recognize that their work is stressful and that a short period of time to relieve that stress will be beneficial for their health and for their work performance. If you really focus your pitch on the benefits of massage for work performance, you may even convince the business owner to cover the cost of the massage for their employees.
To get started with this strategy, get in touch with the business owner. Offering them a free massage is a great way to get their attention for an extended period of time and to show them the benefits of massage all at once.